


Pulling Hair

by Jubilee44



Category: Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Children, F/M, First Meetings, Fluff and Angst, One Shot, Single Parents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-18
Updated: 2018-05-18
Packaged: 2019-05-08 11:22:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14693160
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jubilee44/pseuds/Jubilee44
Summary: Bucky is on the run, still dealing with a spotty memory and an identity crisis. Then he meets a single mother with a toddler who has a fascination with pulling long hair.





	Pulling Hair

            Bucky embraced his long hair. Sometimes it got in the way but he could put it back in a ponytail if he wanted to. There were some inconsistencies with his identity. He often looked at the brochure from the museum. Most of it was about Steve but there was a section about the Howling Commandos. Bucky Barnes. There was a small picture of the man he was supposed to be.

            His memory was still muddied. There were points in the day where he could remember entire portions of his life seventy years ago. Then there were moments when he hardly remembered what he looked like or where he came from. It was scary, to say the least, going to bed not knowing if you would remember certain things.

            So he started writing it all down. Most times, they were brief lists of things that popped into his brain.

            -Sister’s name was Rebecca

            -Steve’s mom: Sarah, Irish

            -Throwing stones off Brooklyn Bridge

            -Bakery down the street starts with an A. Can’t remember

            -Steve’s asthma

            -107th

            -Cyclone

            -Natalia? Can’t put face to name

            -Fell from train

 

            Other times, Bucky could write paragraphs of things he recalled. He once woke up in the dead of night to write down an entire memory of when he and Steve went to the science expo before he left for London.

            But those times were few and far in between.

            He kept the notebook on hand at all times. He never knew when his brain would clear away some of the fog.

           

            Bucky wasn’t sure why he was running anymore. He figured he would get to a place of answers or he would be caught. Either way, it was scary to think about. He wasn’t sure what he was looking for. He knew who he used to be but it felt disconnected. It was like a million people were telling him who he was but he didn’t feel it. He didn’t feel like the daring sergeant from World War Two. But he didn’t feel like Hydra’s puppet anymore either. He just felt lost.

            Suddenly, Bucky felt his hair being yanked from the side. He winced but the hand pulling wasn’t very strong. If it had been any more painful he was sure he would go into attack mode. But danger didn’t seem imminent.

            “Lisbeth!”

            Bucky glanced over at the person on the train next to him. A young woman with a small toddler on her lap looked horrified. The girl had a fistful of Bucky’s hair and by the look of her delighted face; she wasn’t going to let go.

            “It’s okay,” Bucky assured the woman.

            “I’m sorry, she always feels the need to grab long hair.” The mother frantically tried to pry her daughter’s hand off without causing Bucky any more discomfort.

            “She’s stronger than she looks.” Bucky chuckled.

            She laughed but still looked mortified. “Let go, Lisbeth!” She finally got the toddler to unhand his hair. “I’m sorry.” She apologized again.

            “It’s okay, don’t worry.” He used the hair tie around his wrist to pull his hair back into a ponytail. “Just so she’s not tempted.” He smiled.

            Interactions with normal humans made him feel connected to the world again. He was wary, as always. Anyone could be a Hydra agent undercover, he was taught never to let his guard down. But sometimes he got so lonely that he enjoyed a passing conversation.

            “How old?” He asked.

            “Thirteen months.” The mother was blonde, while the child had darker hair. They had similar blue eyes, however, and seemed to have similar expressions.

            “Does she look more like your husband?” He wasn’t really sure how to carry a conversation about children. He didn’t have much experience with childcare. And if he had in the past, he didn’t remember it.

            Her face fell slightly. “Uh…I’m not with the father.” She forced a smile. “It’s just Lisbeth and me.”

            _Shit._ “Oh, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have assumed.”

            “It’s okay, everyone does.” She shrugged and glanced over at him. “Your accent is different, are you traveling?”

            “Yeah, just taking a few weeks off from work to see Europe.” He was great at lying.

            “Very fun. Are you enjoying the Netherlands?”

            “Yeah, lots of cool stuff to see for sure.” Another lie. Bucky had spent the few days holed up in his hotel room. He was running low on cash so he decided to travel to the city and look for some odd jobs.

            Lisbeth started to whine and squirmed in her mother’s arms. She reached a pudgy hand towards Bucky’s ponytail.

            “Lisbeth, no.” She scolded. “Leave him alone.”

            Bucky chuckled. “Here.” He dug into his backpack and handed her a keychain he had found in his last hotel room. It was merely a tassel on a key ring. It reminded him of something people had on the end of their curtains or rugs so he couldn’t imagine why someone would want it on their keys. But he decided to take it for whatever reason.

            The little girl seemed fascinated and took the tassel in her small hands.

            “Say thank you, Beth.”

            She looked up at Bucky and gave him a gummy smile before going back to examining the trinket.

            “That should keep her occupied for a few minutes.” Bucky shrugged.

            “I’m Eva.” The young woman introduced herself.

            “Uh…Bucky.” He replied. Usually, he gave aliases when asked about his name. Sometimes he forgot that Bucky was actually his name. It seemed like another person. In all truth, he felt nameless.

            “Thank you for keeping her busy. It can be tough sometimes.” Eva interrupted his thoughts.

            “I can’t imagine. It must be tough raising her on your own.” He nodded.

            “I have family that helps but…it can be. I wish she had a father around, sometimes I don’t feel like I’m enough.” The blonde looked at Lisbeth for a moment. Then she snorted. “Sorry, I shouldn’t be getting so emotional around a stranger. She laughed at herself.           

            “I don’t mind.” Bucky realized how lonely he really was. The first person who offered a bit of human connection and he took it. A ton of alarm bells went off in his head, but they were only leftovers from Hydra. He couldn’t remember any instances of a spy using a live baby as a prop.

            Eva looked up and their eyes met. She smiled slightly. “Really?” It seemed like she had been starving for a bit of human interaction too.

            He nodded. “Yeah, I’m all ears.”

 


End file.
